2014 (4) TMI 398 - AT - Income Tax

Non-appearance of the parties Change of address - Applicability of section 69 of the Act Held that - In view of change of the address by the assessee, the notices issued by the AO could not be served upon the assessee - assessee was prevented by reasonable cause and did not appear before AO - the assessee has sufficient material to prove that the investment in mutual fund is explainable thus, the matter is required to be remitted back to the AO for re-adjudication Decided in favour of Assessee.

Summary

Issues involved:
- Appeal against order passed by Ld. CIT(A)26, Mumbai for assessment year 2006-07
- Dispute over non-availability of books of accounts, bank statements, and capital account
- Addition of Rs. 5.00 lacs under section 69 of the Income Tax Act
- Failure of the assessee to attend proceedings before the A.O.
- Dismissal of appeal by Ld. CIT(A) in-limine due to non-appearance of the assessee
- Request for restoration of the issue to the file of the A.O.
- Dispute over proper service of notices and opportunity for the appellant

Detailed Analysis:
1. The appeal was filed against the order passed by Ld. CIT(A)26, Mumbai for the assessment year 2006-07. The impugned assessment order dated 17/12/2008 under section 144 of the Income Tax Act added Rs. 5.00 lacs to the returned income of the assessee due to non-availability of books of accounts, bank statements, and capital account. The AO mentioned that the amount was added based on AIR information regarding the purchase of mutual funds. The assessee failed to attend the proceedings, resulting in the order being passed ex-parte.

2. The assessee contended that the notices could not be properly served as they were sent to the old address despite the new address being mentioned in the return filed for the relevant assessment year. The notices were returned by the Postal Authorities with remarks of "no such person was found at the address." The AR argued that the investment in mutual funds was adequately explained and requested the issue to be restored to the A.O. for re-adjudication after providing a reasonable opportunity for hearing.

3. The Tribunal considered the change of address as a reasonable cause for the assessee's non-appearance before the A.O. and directed the issue to be restored to the A.O. for a re-examination with a reasonable opportunity for the assessee to justify the claim. Regarding the non-appearance before Ld. CIT(A), it was noted that the appeal could not have been summarily dismissed. However, as the issue was being restored to the A.O., the matter became academic. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.

4. In conclusion, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, and the Tribunal directed the issue to be re-examined by the A.O. with a reasonable opportunity provided to the assessee. The dismissal of the appeal by Ld. CIT(A) in-limine was deemed improper given the circumstances, and the matter was considered resolved by restoring it to the A.O. for further proceedings.